Good points. Thank you. The only problem with the zoom at short/medium range is that the LCD doesn't have the resolution to show the poor focus (even with full zoom in playback); it's not until I get them on the big screen that I see exactly what I've got. Perhaps time and experiment with distance and zoom will give me a better appreciation of when to try macro or shoot both with and without to improve my chance of a better shot. I must admit I haven't tried spot on landscapes before, I nearly always use average. What is the technique for using spot in a scene such as I tried today?

Regards, Dicky

Point then recompose is the right technique for using spot-metering on landscape scene especially with lots of DR like this: